PJS condemns arrest of journalist Jihad Barakat

The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate (PJS) has strongly denounced the Palestinian Authority (PA) preventive security apparatus for arresting journalist Jihad Barakat, a reporter for Palestine Today satellite channel, on Thursday near an Israeli military checkpoint east of Tulkarem.

In a press release on Friday, the syndicate said that the reason for detaining Barakat and the situation that happened after his arrest reflected that the government of Rami al-Hamdallah and the PA security apparatuses would persist in their violations against journalists and the freedoms of opinion and the press.

The syndicate expressed rejection of the flimsy justifications that were given by the government for detaining Barakat, saying the government’s statement about the incident reflected a new serious inclination to demonize the journalists and provide political cover for committing violations against them.

It affirmed that it would continue making efforts to ensure the release of the journalist, and also reiterated its call for releasing photojournalist Ahmed al-Khatib and revoking the government’s decision to block news websites.